


Cheer up the Skeleton Week

by IronWoman359



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, cheer up the skeleton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-21 23:44:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6062590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IronWoman359/pseuds/IronWoman359
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This fic was inspired by tumblr user @teffyjeffy and their #cheeruptheskeleton week. Each chapter is my contribution to the prompt of that day. <br/>This fic takes place in a post pacifist version of Undertale and is dedicated to making Sans, who is so often written/drawn in so much pain, a happier skeleton. I highly recommend going on tumblr and checking out everyone's contributions, they will warm your heart!<br/>These chapters take place in the same timeline, but in no particular order (with the exception of six and seven, seven is a continuation of the events of six)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One: Waking Up

* _flash_ *  
A red scarf lay in the snow.   
* _flash_ *  
The human was walking towards him, covered in dust with a knife in their hand.   
* _flash_ *   
Reality was crumbling around him as the world was thrown into yet another reset.  
* _flash_ *  
He was lying in bed, with sunlight streaming through his window.   
Sunlight. There was sunlight.   
Groggily, he sat up, his left eye socket throbbing. It had just been another nightmare. He heaved a sigh. He'd hoped that those would quit after making it to the surface. While they weren't as frequent as they used to be, they still hadn't stopped completely.   
"SANS!" Papyrus' voice echoed from downstairs. "IT'S ALMOST NOON! WHY ARE YOU STILL ASLEEP, YOU LAZYBONES???" Footsteps started pounding, getting closer until Papyrus burst through the bedroom door, wearing a Kiss the Cook apron and holding a large wooden spoon. "OH GOOD, YOU'RE AWAKE. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM MAKING VERY SPECIAL SPAGHETTI FOR LUNCH AND I WOULD HATE FOR YOU TO MISS MY COOKING BECAUSE YOU WERE-"  
He stopped abruptly, seeing Sans clutching his eye socket. "SANS? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"  
"yeah, bro. i'm fine," Sans mumbled. "it-it was just a nightmare, pap, i'm alr-"   
Before he could finish his sentence, Papyrus had snatched him up and stowed him under his arm. He marched downstairs to the kitchen, where Frisk, Undyne, Alphys, Toriel, and Asgore were seated around the table. Papyrus plopped Sans down on the floor so suddenly that he couldn't stay standing and fell on his tailbone, slightly dazed.   
"whoa there, bro. what are you-"  
"ATTENTION, EVERYONE." Papyrus announced. "MY BROTHER IS NOT FEELING WELL THIS MORNING. THIS CALLS FOR A HEAVY DOSAGE OF FRIENDSHIP HUGS!"   
"wha-" before Sans could even get another word out, Frisk leapt from their chair and dove into his arms.   
"It's ok, Sans." They whispered. "I won't reset anymore." Before Sans could even respond, all the others were joining them, until everyone was in a huge pile of limbs, scales, bones and fur on the floor in one massive hug pile.   
Sans laughed, and squeezed Frisk tight. So what if he still had a few nightmares? At least now he had a good reason to wake up.


	2. Day Two: Games

"ya ready, frisk?" Sans asked. Frisk nodded, a huge grin on their face. "ok, here it goes," he said, and reached out with his hand, his left eye glowing blue. He lifted Frisk off the ground by their soul and sent them soaring across the room, until they landed on Papyrus's shoulders.  
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HUMAN?" Papyrus cried as Frisk giggled and clamped their hands over Papyrus's eye sockets.   
"you'll see, bro," Sans said, grinning. "just take my hand and follow the sound of my voice."   
"OK..." Papyrus said tentatively, reaching out in front of him. Sans grasped one of his hands and began walking, directing Papyrus as he went.   
"that's it, pap. just keep moving forward. c'mon, bro, you're doing great."  
"IF THIS IS LEADING UP TO A PUN, I WILL BOIL YOU WITH MY SPAGHETTI, SANS."   
Sans grinned. "aw, c'mon pap. we both know that's-"  
"SANS..."  
"im-pasta-ble!"  
"SANS!"   
"c'mon, bro, we're almost there."  
Sans and Frisk lead Papyrus through their living room and out onto the back deck.  
"ok, ok, steady, aaaand...now!  
Frisk lifted up their hands and laughed as everyone on the back deck shouted   
"SURPRISE!"   
Papyrus gasped, beyond words. The back deck had been covered with orange and blue streamers, confetti, and balloons that were wearing sunglasses. All of his friends had gathered around a table with an enormous bowl of spaghetti and a large cake that had "Cool Skeleton" spelled out in icing. The cake was also wearing sunglasses, and surrounding the food was the biggest pile of puzzles and board games he'd ever seen. Jigsaws, Jenga, Scrabble, Boggle, word searches, chess, Monopoly, Risk, Junior Jumble, everything.   
"WOWIE!" Glowing orange tears started to brim at the edge of his eye sockets, but he didn't even care. "SANS...SANS THIS IS AMAZING! DID YOU DO THIS?"   
"We all did this, Papyrus," said Asgore. "Frisk and Undyne made the spaghetti, Tori baked the cake, Alphys and Mettaton helped gather all the games and make the puzzles, and Sans and I put up the decorations."  
"It was Sans's idea though!" Toriel added. "He's the one who called all of us about it."   
Sans blushed slightly as Toriel smiled at him.  
"ah, it was n-"   
He was cut off as Papyrus scooped him up into a huge bear hug, while Frisk laughed again, still perched up on his shoulders.   
"I LOVE IT!" Papyrus exclaimed. "THANK YOU, SO MUCH."  
"happy birthday, bro." Sans said, comfort rolling over him, warmer than the sunshine that lit the deck.   
"I LOVE YOU, SANS!" Said Papyrus happily.  
"i love you too, pap," said Sans, looking up at his brother with a contented smile on his face. "i love you too."


	3. Day Three: The Outdoors

The air was crisp and sharp; it moved with a slight breeze that felt like the earth breathing out a contented sigh. High in the sky, clouds slowly rolled along, as if they were in no particular hurry to get wherever they were going. Laughter floated on the wind as the children chased each other between the corn maze and through the pumpkin patch. A light smoky scent wafted up from behind the old red barn; someone had started the bonfire. Sans sat on a bench, taking it all in. He looked up at the sky. Somehow it was even bluer than normal, framed in the bright reds, oranges, and golds of the changing trees.   
"wow," he whispered to himself. "I could get used to this,"  
"Sans!" Frisk's voice pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up, and saw them in the pumpkin patch, frantically waving him over.   
He got up and sauntered over to them.  
"what's up kiddo? did you find one?"   
"Uh huh!" Frisk pointed at what was easily the biggest pumpkin in the entire patch.   
"whoa. that's a big one. you sure, Frisk?"   
They nodded enthusiastically.   
"ok, buddy. whatever you say. lemme get that."  
Sans concentrated and slowly lifted the giant pumpkin into the air. People stared in disbelief as Sans and Frisk walked through the patch, the enormous pumpkin floating behind them gently. They made their way to where tables were set up for carving the pumpkin's into Jack O Lanterns. Papyrus and Undyne were hard at work on their own pumpkins when Sans and Frisk arrived.   
"MY PUMPKIN IS UNDOUBTABLY THE COOLEST!" Papyrus proclaimed proudly.  
"What?!? No way, nerd! Mine is way cooler!" Undyne protested. Sans looked at their creations, fighting back laughter. Papyrus had carved his into a skull wearing sunglasses, and Undyne was more focused on the gutting process than actually making a face on her pumpkin.   
"wow, papyrus. that's pretty good," Sans said, setting down Frisk's pumpkin on the table. Frisk grabbed a marker and started to draw a design.  
"THANK YOU, BROTHER!" Papyrus said cheerfully.  
"but i think that you messed up one little bit," Sans added.  
"WHAT?!? HOW CAN THIS BE?" Papyrus cried, frantically searching for his mistake.  
"hey, don't worry about it pap. i know just how to fix it."  
"HOW?" Papyrus asked desperately. Frisk stifled a giggle, spotting what was coming next before Papyrus could put two and two together.  
"by using a pumpkin patch!"   
"SANS!"   
Sans grinned as Papyrus let out a dramatic wail of despair and Frisk laughed.   
"That is a good one, Sans," came a voice from behind them. Sans's grin turned into a blush as Toriel joined them at the table. "What is a pumpkin's favorite sport?" She asked him.  
"i dunno, tori. what?"  
"Squash!"   
Undyne rolled her eyes as Papyrus let out another groan.   
"Have you finished your pumpkin's face yet, my child?" Toriel asked. Frisk nodded, turning their pumpkin to show everyone.   
"WOWIE, HUMAN! I THINK YOURS IS THE COOLEST! LOOK, SANS!"  
"aw, kid. i dunno what to say," Sans said, smiling.   
Drawn onto the pumpkin was a smiling skeleton face that unmistakably was Sans. Frisk ran over to Sans and gave him a big hug.   
"heh. i think i'm gonna like autumn."


	4. Day Four: Family

Sans lounged on the couch, flipping through the channels on the TV.   
"man, humans sure have a lot of channels," he said to himself. He settled on a game show, and turned the volume down. He really just wanted some noise in the background for his nap. Before he could doze off though, Frisk came dashing into the room, waving a piece of paper and looking very excited about something.  
"Sans! Look!" They jumped up on the couch next to him and handed him a flyer. Sans quickly scanned it, then looked over at Frisk.  
"family night?" He asked. Frisk nodded.  
"It's a thing my school is doing! It's in the gym, and its like a big party! There are games and food and everyone brings their family!"  
"heh. sounds like fun. you and tori have a good time, ok?"  
"Sans," Frisk protested.  
"what?"  
"I want you to come!"   
If Sans had had eyebrows, he would've raised them in surprise.   
"frisk...are you sure?"   
Frisk looked at their feet for a moment.  
"Sans...before I fell, I didn't have a real family. I ran away to Mt. Ebott because I thought...I thought that no one wanted me."   
Sans stared at Frisk in amazement. He'd never heard the kid open up like this.   
"But then I fell. I met Mom, and then I met you and Papyrus. And Undyne and Alphys and Asgore and...everyone. I felt...I dunno." They looked up at Sans, and he could see they were holding back tears. "I guess for the first time, I felt like people cared about me. And now that we're all here together, I have the best family I could have asked for."   
Wordlessly, Sans pulled Frisk into a hug.   
They sat there together on the couch for a while, silently taking comfort in one another. Eventually, Frisk pulled away.  
"So, will you come to family night with me?"  
Sans smiled at them.   
"i wouldn't miss it."


	5. Day Five: Music

"are you ready yet paps?" Sans called up the stairs.   
"ALMOST! I'M PICKING OUT A COOL OUTFIT!" Papyrus yelled back.   
"well hurry up bro, or we'll be late!"   
A moment later, Papyrus came bounding down the stairs, dressed in a pink MTT t-shirt and bright neon green shorts. Sans grinned. Man, his brother was cool.  
"alright bro, let's go! everyone is waiting!"   
The brothers went outside, where Asgore, Toriel, Undyne, Alphys and Frisk were all sitting in the family van, waiting to leave. Sans and Papyrus piled into the back, with Frisk sitting in between them.   
"Is everybody ready?" Asgore asked from the driver seat. Everyone cheered in response, and Asgore started the car. "Then MTT world tour concert, here we come!"   
The drive to the concert was long, but with seven people in the car, it was certainly eventful. Everyone was laughing hysterically by the time they got to the arena where Mettaton's concert was. The ticket line was obscenely long, but they just showed their VIP tickets Mettaton had given them to a security officer and they were shown in through the side entrance. The front row seats were incredible. Mettaton's performance, as always, was fabulous, and seeing their friends Shyren and Nabstablook making music with him was incredible. Papyrus knew every word to each song, and watching him joyfully sing along warmed Sans's heart. Right before the last number, Mettaton came out on stage, and Nabstablook put on some soft, slow music.  
"Ladies and gentlemen," Mettaton said. "Tonight we have some very special fabulous fans in the audience."  
"Oh...oh, he's not," Sans heard Alphys whisper beside him.   
"Tonight-" he paused dramatically. "We are joined by none other than my creator, the brilliant Dr. Alphys and her family!" A spotlight shone down on them and everyone cheered. Alphys was blushing, Toriel and Asgore looked surprised, Undyne started flexing, and Papyrus looked awestruck. Sans grinned. Seeing his brother this happy was always special.  
"And they're going to help me sing my last song!" Mettaton announced. Sans's grin froze. Sing? On stage? He didn't sign up for that by agreeing to go to this. Not that he couldn't sing. He just...didn't like to in front of people. But Papyrus was already pulling on his sleeve, dragging him on stage with the others. The stage crew quickly passed out microphones, and Blooky cued the music. Sans grimaced slightly. He knew the words of course. This was Mettaton's most popular song...and yeah, he had sung it before. But he'd been alone, singing along to the radio. Without thousands of people watching him. Papyrus grinned down at him.   
"I'M SO HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH YOU SANS!" He said. Sans groaned internally. Being on stage with him made Paps happy. There was no getting out of it now. The first verse started up, and Sans raised the microphone. As he started singing, he slowly started to feel more comfortable. By the end of the song, he was actually kind of enjoying himself. He even took a bow with everyone when it was over.   
That night as they drove back home, the car was quiet. Alphys had pulled out her 3DS, and Undyne was leaning over her shoulder, watching her play. Frisk and Papyrus had fallen asleep, using each other as pillows. Asgore and Toriel sat in silence in the front. Sans was feeling drowsy, but before he could nod off, Toriel called back softly   
"I did not know you were such a good singer, Sans."  
He was glad it was dark so that she couldn't see the blush that started to creep onto his face.   
"heh heh, it's not that great-" he started to say, but Toriel cut him off.  
"No Sans, it was very good. You fit right in up there."   
"heh, thanks tori. i just...i really like music. it used to really help me...back when things weren't so great, ya know? on days when everything just seemed hopeless, sometimes the only thing that could snap me out of my gloom was a good song. or papyrus, of course."  
"Well, I hope..." Toriel paused. Was she...embarrassed? "I hope you'll sing for us again sometimes. I...quite enjoyed it."   
Sans blushed deeper, but he also smiled.   
"yeah. i suppose i could do that."


	6. Day Six: The Machine is Fixed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is much longer than the others, mostly because it's less fluffy than the others. It still has a happy Sans in it, but there's a lot more emotion happening here.  
> Just so you're aware, this fic is using the Headcannons that Gaster was Sans and Papyrus's father, Alphys and Sans were Gaster's lab assistants, and they were able to remember bits and pieces of him after the accident at the CORE because of their experiments together.

When the barrier was broken and monsters migrated to the surface, most left their large belongings in the underground. There was no easy way to transport anything bigger than a large suitcase, and because of the different monetary systems used on the surface, most were content to leave 'valuables' behind, bringing with them only essentials and sentimental effects.  
One exception to this was Sans. After everyone had settled into their new shared home, Sans went out for a 'walk,' and when he returned, there was a large covered object in the basement that hadn't been there before. Sans asked that the cover stay on the object unless he was in the basement, and his request was so oddly sincere that the others respected his decision. The only one who ever mentioned it again was Alphys, and after some discussion, the two agreed to finish what had been started together.  
The two would spend late nights in the basement together, pouring over notes stained with coffee and ketchup as they slowly rebuilt the broken machine. Often, Toriel would come downstairs early in the morning to find them both asleep at their work station. She never said anything to them about it, she simply covered the machine with its sheet once more and gently carried them to bed. When they woke up, they wouldn't remember going back upstairs, but would be too tired to question the matter.  
Finally, after months of work, it was done. The two stood together in their makeshift lab looking at the completed machine. Alphys was the first to break the silence.  
"D-do...do you think it'll work?" She asked nervously.  
"i hope so," Sans replied. He shared her nervousness, but he tried not to let it show in his voice. He took a breath. "only one way to find out, right?"  
He reached for the controls, and he couldn't quite keep a tremor out of his hand. God, it had been so long...so many failed attempts to make it work. They'd gotten so close, all those years ago.  
So close.  
And then came the anomaly, stalling their progress with reset after reset until Sans had simply given up hope on ever completing the machine. He'd quit his job as a scientist and moved with Papyrus to Snowdin, but he'd taken the machine with him. Somehow, he couldn't bear to leave it behind in the lab, but he hadn't wanted to destroy it either. So it simply sat, abandoned in his secret workshop behind the house. Occasionally he'd revisit it, but he always gave up the work pretty quickly. Why try when it'd all be reset, right?  
But now...  
Sans steeled his nerves and began activating the control sequence. The machine began to whir to life, vibrating slightly as various lights on the display panels began to flash.  
"Entering coordinates..." Alphys said, typing some numbers in. "You ready?" Sans took a deep breath, then nodded. She nodded back. "Establishing link to the void," she said, flipping a switch. Tiny bolts of blue energy shot from the machine's antennae, gathering to one point and forming a tiny portal. The portal slowly grew as more and more energy was expelled, until it was bigger than Asgore. Sans looked at Alphys, and she nodded.  
"Good luck."  
"alphys, if anything happens..."  
"Sans, don't. You'll be fine, you have to be fine. T-this'll work, it h-has to work..."  
"just, tell paps i love him, al. just do that for me." With that, Sans turned, and stepped into the portal.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silence.  
Darkness.  
Utter nothingness so thick Sans could barely breathe. He activated his eye, but the eerie blue glow illuminated...nothing.  
Well.  
Sans had expected nothing less from the void. It was, after all, the absence of everything.  
Almost.  
Even in the blackness, Sans could tell. He wasn't alone. He reached out to the void, willing the presence to come to him...

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

And the void reached back.

 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Sans pulled at the presence he had..."grabbed?" Not exactly. There wasn't quite physical contact, but when he pulled, there was a response, so he kept pulling. He moved back, towards the portal he had come through. It was hard at first, but the closer he got to it, the more real it became. He could see the blue outline of it, and through it on the other side, Alphys wringing her hands and mumbling nervously to herself. As he got closer, he could hear her.  
"Come on Sans, come on! Please come back, you have to come back, this has to work, oh god, oh god, I messed up, I messed up again!"  
Sans focused on her voice, straining towards it, pulling with all his might. Then, as suddenly as he'd entered the void, he left it, falling out of the portal and collapsing on the floor.  
"Sans!" Alphys cried, rushing to his side."You're ok! Oh god, I was so worried! You were gone for over an hour! I was so scared, but the portal stayed open so I just maintained it the best I could..." She took a deep shaky breath. "So...did you find him?"  
Lying on the floor in a heap was a shivering, black cloaked form. He slowly raised his head, the cracks in his eye sockets unmistakable. He looked around, taking in his surroundings, settling his attention on the skeleton on the floor next to him.<br "S-sans?" he croaked, his voice low and raspy. "H-how? Where am I? Am I...really free?"  
"yeah, dad." Sans said, grinning. "You really are."  
Alphys ran around the machine, frantically turning everything off.  
"So it worked?" She asked, as she unplugged everything. "He's really back? Gaster's free?"  
Sans stood up, and offered a hand to the old royal scientist.  
"yeah, i'd say he is," he replied as he pulled Gaster to his feet. "you ok, there dad?"  
Gaster was still in shock, marveling at his newly restored physical form.  
"But...but how? How did you do it? I was scattered across the universe, I was erased from existence...how did you even get into the void?!?"  
"basically, i used a shortcut," Sans said grinning.  
"What?"  
"We used the quantum mechanics behind Sans's teleportation ability, but we artificially enhanced the strength and distance of his power in order to reach the void, and then we had to find a way to sustain a portal long enough for him to get into the void but also come back, because we didn't want him to get stuck there too..."  
"yeah," Sans said, cutting off Alphys's ramblings. "basically a shortcut."  
"Except it took a really long time," Alphys added. "We started this right after you fell into the core, and that was years ago. "I...see," Gaster said slowly. "So...Sans is the royal scientist now?"  
"nah, alphys is. or she was. we don't actually have a royal scientist anymore."  
"What? Then who will work on the soul vessel project? How will we get to the surface?"  
"Actually, we're on the surface right now," Alphys said.  
Gaster gasped.  
"How? When?"  
"close to a year now. we've been working on bringing you home for a long time." Sans grinned. "you could say i've been DADsperate to get you back."  
Gaster grinned back.  
"Well, I'm glad to hear it, though you didn't have to go to SON much trouble."  
"what can i say? i was just DADvistated when you fell."  
They laughed, enjoying the playful banter that Sans hadn't realized just how much he'd missed. There was a moment of silence, and in the absence of puns, Sans wasn't really sure what to say next.  
"dad, i-"  
Gaster pulled him into a hug before he could finish.  
"I missed you Sans."  
Sans felt tears pricking at the back of his eye sockets, and he didn't bother to hold them  
back.  
"i missed you too, dad," he whispered.

The three of them made their way upstairs, Alphys leading the way with Sans supporting Gaster behind her. Gaster hadn't physically walked in an extremely long time, and his limbs hadn't quite gotten the hang of it again yet. The three of them walked into the kitchen, where Toriel was setting out breakfast plates for everyone. Bacon and eggs sizzled on the stove, and Sans felt Gaster perk up a bit at the smell, both familiar and brand new.  
"Hey, Alphys!" Undyne called from her spot at the breakfast table. "Where've you been, nerd? You didn't come to be last night, and you were still gone when I got up this morning."  
"S-sorry, Undyne," Alphys stammered. "I was, uh...that is, we were...um..." She looked back at Sans, a questioning look in her eyes. Sans knew her well enough to know she was asking him: "How do we tell them?"  
"you might wanna set out an eighth place there, tori," Sans said, coming to her rescue.  
"Huh? Why is that, Sa-" Toriel stopped mid-sentence when she saw him supporting Gaster "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Of course!" She rushed to their side and helped take Gaster's weight, leading him to a chair at the table. Sans followed and collapsed into his own chair next to Papyrus and Frisk.  
"SANS? WHAT'S GOING ON? WHO IS THAT NEW, CREEPY LOOKING SKELETON?"  
"Hello, Papyrus," Gaster said smiling. "It is truly wonderful to see you again."  
"AND WHY DOES HE KNOW MY NAME?" Papyrus added, looking somewhat panicked.  
"that's our dad, bro," said Sans with a tired grin on his face.  
"WHAT?!?!"  
"I must admit, I'm somewhat confused," Asgore said, scratching his head.  
"Do you remember the royal scientist before me?" Alphys asked him. "Dr. W.D. Gaster?"  
Asgore tilted his head to the side, thinking.  
"No..." he said slowly. "But I must admit, the name is oddly...familiar."  
"I HAVE A DAD?!?" Papyrus was shouting.  
"well, yeah paps. did you think we just popped into existence one day?" Sans said.  
"WELL...I THE, GREAT PAPYRUS...NEVER REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT IT." Papyrus said.  
Toriel brought the bowl of eggs and plate of bacon the table, bringing an extra plate for Gaster and chair for herself.  
"Would someone please kindly explain the situation to me?" she asked. "I must admit, I do not fully understand."  
Sans and Alphys looked at each other for a moment. Sans smiled, and nodded to her.  
"I got this, al." He said. "so, that machine that we keep down in the basement," he began. "is fixed."


	7. Day Seven: Winding Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the only chapter that is directly related to another in the series. Make sure you've read chapter six before reading this one! (Honestly I have no idea how you'd find this chapter before chapter six, but whatever!)

"and then fluffy bunny was no longer lonely. the end," said Sans, closing the book.

"THAT ENDING ALWAYS GETS ME." Papyrus said with a yawn.

"good night, bro," Sans said with a grin.

"GOODNIGHT SANS!"

Sans got up and walked out of his brother's room, turning off the light and closing the door as he left. He went down the hall to Frisk's room, where Toriel was tucking them in. He poked his head in, and seeing that the kid was still awake, he came in and sat on the end of their bed. Toriel smiled at him from the rocking chair next to the bed.

"Hello, Sans," she said. "Frisk has been up waiting for you."

"heh, sorry for the wait, kiddo," Sans said. "but you know how 'rattled' papyrus can get without his bedtime story." Frisk smiled sleepily at his joke.

"Hey, Sans," Frisk said, stifling a yawn. "Guess what?"

"what, kid?"

"I think...you're _Sans_ ational!" Sans laughed, and playfully ruffled Frisk's hair.

"and i love you a _skele_ ton, Frisk." They laughed, and threw their arms around his neck.

"Alright, alright," said Toriel, a twinkle in her eye. "Time for you to go to sleep now, my child." She leaned down and kissed Frisk on the forehead. "Sweet dreams," she said as she and Sans got up and left. The two of them walked down the hallway together, stopping at the door to Toriel's room. Sans yawned, still exhausted from the previous night's events. His yawn made Toriel yawn, which made Sans yawn again. Toriel laughed at that, which of course made Sans laugh too. Toriel's laugh was one of the most contagious things he'd ever heard, even more contagious than yawning. He could feel a blush creeping onto his cheekbones, which seemed to be happening more and more around Toriel.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed," she said as their laughter died down. "You should do the same, sleepybones."

"yeah," Sans said with another yawn. "i'm gonna turn in pretty soon. i wanna talk to...my dad...for a bit first, though."

It still felt strange to say out loud. His dad. Was home.

"I'm so glad you were able to bring him back, Sans," said Toriel with a warm smile. "Even though most of us do not remember him, I can see how important he is to you, and I'm very happy for you and Papyrus both." Sans's blush deepened.

"thanks, tori." Quickly, as if she had suddenly made up her mind about something, Toriel bent down and kissed Sans on the cheekbone.

"Good night Sans," she said. A blush of her own was creeping over her face.

"g-goodnight, tori," Sans stammered. Toriel quickly went into her room, leaving Sans in the hallway, his soul pounding in his chest. Once the initial shock wore off, he couldn't keep a stupid grin off his face. He wasn't someone who discussed his feelings easily, but he resolved to have a long conversation with Toriel the next day. They just might have a lot to talk about. He left the hallway, walking downstairs to the guest bedroom. He knocked twice, and said

"knock knock."

"Who's there?" Gaster's voice came from the other side.

"canoe."

"Canoe who?"

"canoe please let me in, dad?" Gaster chuckled, and opened the door.

"Your jokes are as wonderfully terrible as ever, Sans."

"what can i say? i learned from the best," Sans said grinning. The two sat in comfortable silence for awhile, appreciating one another's presence. After a time, Gaster broke the silence.

"I'm...so very proud of you and your brother, Sans. You've become such fine young men...I only wish that I could have been there for you when you needed me."

"what happened at the core was an accident, dad. nobody blames you for that." Gaster shook his head.

"I do not mean just after I became lost in the void. Ever since your mother died...well. I became so wrapped up in my own grief and buried in my work that I fear..." Gaster sighed. "I am so sorry, Sans. I should have been less of a scientist and more of a father." Sans reached out and gave his dad a hug.

"forget about it, dad. papyrus and i...we managed alright. sure it wasn't easy, but we turned out fine. what matters is that you're here with us now. we can be a family again." Gaster smiled.

"Thanks to you, yes. I think we can." Sans yawned again, breaking the tender moment. "You must be exhausted," Gaster observed. "We will have plenty of time to catch up with one another, for now you should go to bed."

"yeah, i am pretty 'bone tired.'" Sans said with a laugh. "good night, dad."

"Good night, son," Gaster said.

Sans went back upstairs to his room and got into bed. Moonlight streamed through his bedroom window, casting silvery shadows every which way. As he drifted off to sleep, an overwhelming sense of contentment washed over him. He had a feeling there would be no nightmares tonight.


End file.
